When a “Himalayan tsunami” roars down from the rooftop of the world, water from an overflowing glacial lake obeys gravity. Obliterating everything in its path, a burst is predictable only in its destructiveness.    “There was no meaning in it,” one person who withstood the waters in India’s Himalayas told …

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft failed to dock with the International Space Station Saturday. The craft was carrying a humanoid robot that was scheduled to conduct a mission on the station with the cosmonauts who are there.  NASA said on its blog that the docking system of the Soyuz spacecraft failed …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that it had identified 193 potential cases of severe lung illness tied to vaping in 22 states as of Aug. 22, including one adult in Illinois who died after being hospitalized. The CDC has been investigating a “cluster” of lung illnesses that it believes may be …

Nigerian activist Ayuba Gufwan made sure his five children received polio vaccinations soon after they were born.     “I was determined to make sure none of my kids got the polio virus because I am a victim myself,” he said. Gufwan came down with polio when he was 5 years old. Forced to crawl on …

Brazil’s ultra-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, is accusing his French counterpart of having a “colonialist mentality” for saying the Amazon wildfires should be at the top of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit agenda.”The French president’s suggestion that Amazon issues be discussed at the G-7 without participation by the countries in …

French President Emmanuel Macron wants the wildfires burning in the Amazon rainforest to be the number one topic at the G-7 summit in France.”Our house is burning. Literally,” Macron tweeted Thursday. “The Amazon rainforest, the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen is on fire. It is an international …

Rwanda has introduced the use of electric motorcycles as part of its efforts to protect the environment and cut fuel costs. Passengers and motorcyclists say the electric vehicles could dramatically change how Rwandans do business.James Musisi, 45, is one of 10 motorcyclists who have started to use the motorcycles in what …

A three-year study by 13 leading malaria and public health experts finds malaria eradication is feasible, but it will take new tools, political commitment, and lots of money to achieve.  The concept of malaria eradication is not new.  It has been around since the mid-1950s, when the World Health Organization …

Planned Parenthood clinics in several states are charging new fees, tapping financial reserves, intensifying fundraising and warning of more unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases after its decision to quit a $260 million federal family planning program in an abortion dispute with the Trump administration.The fallout is especially intense in …

Seven environmental and animal rights groups are suing the Trump administration for its regulations that would make drastic changes to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act.The environmental law group Earthjustice filed the joint suit Wednesday in San Francisco.They charge the administration with breaking the law by announcing changes to …

Microplastics contained in drinking water pose a “low” risk to human health at current levels, but more research is needed to reassure consumers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.Studies over the past year on plastic particles detected in tap and bottled water have sparked public concerns, but the limited …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo next week.The DRC is no stranger to periodic outbreaks of the Ebola virus, but this most recent epidemic is the worst the African nation has seen in 40 years.The World Health Organization …

The US Treasury took action Wednesday to crack down on Chinese traffickers of deadly fentanyl, sanctioning producer-exporters and warning banks on financial schemes used to distribute the synthetic opioid behind thousands of US overdose deaths.The Treasury identified Zheng Fujing, 36, and a company he controls, Qinsheng Pharmaceutical Technology, and a …

Thirty-some years ago, polio used to cripple hundreds of thousands of children a year. So far this year, about 60 children have gotten polio. The focus now is largely on only two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet, there are reports that the eradication effort is stumbling. VOA’s Carol Pearson has …

We may be a step closer to wiping polio off the face of the earth. The virus is a scourge that attacks children and causes lifelong paralysis, if not an early death.Nigeria has not had a case of wild polio since 2016, and Dr. Tanji Funsho, head of Rotary International’s …

China hopes to welcome the United States “back to the negotiating table” to discuss global efforts to limit climate change at a United Nations summit to be hosted by Chile in December, its top climate change envoy said on Tuesday.Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, told journalists …

Water pollution threatens nearly all the globally agreed development goals to end environmental destruction, poverty and suffering by 2030, economists warned in a report Tuesday, citing the largest-ever database on the world’s water quality.The World Bank report warned of the ripple effects of water pollution on the health, economies, education …

A warmer climate, travel and trade are helping to spread mosquito-borne diseases as a deadly beast smaller than a paper clip poses a threat to more than half the world’s population.World Mosquito Day on Tuesday commemorated the discovery in 1897 by British doctor Ronald Ross that female mosquitoes transmit malaria …

Chile will begin budgeting for the costs of fighting climate change, Finance Minister Felipe Larrain announced Tuesday, as receding glaciers and drought put a squeeze on water and natural resources in the world’s top copper producer.The South American nation, which is due to host the COP25 global conference on climate …

 This is where Earth’s refrigerator door is left open, where glaciers dwindle and seas begin to rise.New York University air and ocean scientist David Holland, who is tracking what’s happening in Greenland from both above and below, calls it “the end of the planet.” He is referring to geography more …

New health guidelines say more women may benefit from gene testing for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, especially if they already survived cancer once. Mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 aren’t common, but when they’re passed through families they greatly increase the chances of breast, ovarian and certain other …

An unmanned Indian space probe successfully entered lunar orbit Tuesday, passing a crucial step towards a historic milestone for the country’s fledgling space program.The arrival of the $141 million Chandrayaan-2 probe comes nearly a month after it was launched into space aboard India’s powerful Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark Three …

Sad city dwellers should seek solace in a local park, according to a survey tracking tweets that showed a leafy walk lifts morale as much as Christmas among Twitter users.Trees in cities are already credited with cooling and cleaning the air, along with absorbing planet-warming gases – but a team …

Russia’s Norilsk smelter complex and a town in South Africa’s eastern coal mining province have the highest sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in the world, according to satellite data from U.S. space agency NASA.The NASA-compiled data published on Monday was commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace India and used the space authority’s …

A zoo in Virginia has announced the birth of red panda triplets.   The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk announced Monday that the triplets were born two months ago and are thriving in a climate-controlled den that’s out of sight from the public.   Zoo veterinarian Collen Clabbers said red panda …